Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Flu Bugs and You

We are experiencing a weather change from an abnormally warm September to a little bit of a frost this morning with more to come.

Officially, by the thermometer on our deck this morning it was 28 degrees… YIKES!

Well, with the weather change comes all sorts of ‘bugs’.. not necessarily the 4 or 8 legged kind.. but the flu and colds and other icky things.

It seems that the neighbors in our apartment complex that live near us all have the flu or a bad cold… so please don’t breathe on me…

When I was in the grocery story today, the checker told me that 2 out of 3 people who came through her line had the cold or the flu.. (Maybe it was only 1 out of 3.. but even that’s a lot.)

So.. please watch out how you are spreading the joy this fall/winter season.

If you have a cold or the flu, please take precautions to keep it to yourself. There are many online resources to coach you through this season and of course, your own medical doctor or public health department.

From friends to family to business associates, everyone has the same clear message, “Get a flu shot. This season’s flu is going to be a bad one.”

We’re not even talking about the swine flu (H1N1).. that’s a different story for another day.

I know there’s a lot of discussion about flu vaccines and whether or not that’s a good thing, but it may be the best choice this year.

Today, I heard a statistic that was alarming. 36,000 people die per year from influenza.

That’s a lot of people and it’s not just the elderly. Children and teenagers and ‘healthy’ people are just as much at risk.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.